History

The idea for a community foundation occurred in two community members minds in two different decades.

In 1975 or so, the Art Deco theater on Main Street closed its doors. In response, residents formed a committee to collect funds to consider preserving the theater. After some funds were collected, the committee abandoned their work for undisclosed reasons and failed to notify the community. The community only became aware of the theater’s troubles with the public proposal to convert the building into retail and office spaces. Among some folks active in the community, the fumbled affair suggested the need for a community fund. A fund that would give the community options for preservation in the future.

In the early 1990’s, local attorney James Reynolds noted that his clients were asking for ways to “give back to the community.” They were seeking a giving vehicle over which they had some control. He decided the Los Altos would benefit from a community foundation and called together a group of to propose creating one.

The organizing committee for Los Altos Tomorrow began meeting in late 1990, and the first “board designate” meeting occurred in February 1991.

That board consisted of twenty-four community members from fourteen families. Thirteen of those families became Board members of the California Corporation when it was chartered in August 1991. The name was changed in 1995 to the Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF) because the use of “tomorrow” was not descriptive enough.